Post 4

Julia
Mr. H Salsich
8 November 2009

Every journey has a noble beginning and a rewarding end, but there is always something in between. When I think of all of my childhood memories, the location that I see the most is High Lonesome Farm. I see the first times I craned my neck to look up at the horses, who glanced back with pure affection in their eyes. This was the beginning. I see the days I walked the wise, old paths with dogs, cats, horses, and people, all best of friends connected in a way that words could never explain. It seemed as though we did not choose the path ourselves, but the path chose our direction, often leading us to marvelous adventures. These adventures were a middle point, no experience could compare to the pure joy of the days at the barn.

Then came the falling action to awaken me from this fairy tale. The death of John, who owned the barn with his wife Karen, should not have been a surprise to me. His awful case of Pneumonia had weakened him, and old age creeped upon him. His fatal condition had occored to me, but did not seem realistic. The day he died, a part of me died too.

So, on a rainy Tuesday, I hauled open the huge barn doors, and stepped inside the old, old barn. That was the last time I ever did. Somehow, John's death had forced Karen to give up the farm; the dusty riding ring, the ranch house, the barns, and even the wooded trails. Everything flew by, the agreement the barn would be kept as a historical monument, then the violation of the agreement. I once saw the immense dumpsters full of the splintering yellow wood and debris that were once a loved place, with a newly paved parking lot and heavy construction equiptment. I never dared muster the bravery to glimpse back, closing my eyes as tightly as possible when in the area.

I have always thought of that rainy Tuesday as the end of the story. Now, I do not. No matter what anyone takes from the land where the barn stood proudly, the soil that was once pawed by horses, scratched by chickens, trampled by sheep, and knelt in by the little girl who explored every inch of the ancient land will still sit. In many years, I may find enough courage to revisit the soil. Maybe even the woods are still there. I may take a right at the fork in the trail past the farthest pasture and kneel by the old oak tree to check for the red mushrooms, which every five-year-old girl knows are planted by mushroom fairies.

The one place I would want to come back to would be the place where I walk my dog, Maisy, every day. The Pawcatuck River flows very close to where I live, and there is a path close to my house that leads down to the banks of the river. I take Maisy down to the water and we sit on the rocks together and watch the families of geese paddle past. It is a very peaceful place, and I know that I will always want to come back to visit my little private beach.

The one place I would want to visit many years in the future is where the place I live now. I would come back to Weekapaug because it contains many memories of my life and years of my family history. As well as that there are some great beaches here that I would come to anytime of year.

One place I would have to revisit is the Stonington Borough (right at the Pavilion on the water). In the summer my friends and I would jump off the docks and swim to the boats. We would have a blast running from the end of a long dock that is near by as fast as we can and ten jump in the water. Making obstacles, such as putting benches in right at the end of the dock so we would have to jump over them, swimming out to the boats and hanging on them, and just pushing each other into the water. I know that if I visited the pavilion a ton of memories would just rush into my head as fast as the cold water would rush into my veins as I hit the water.

One special place I would love to return to when I am older is my New Hampshire house. This house holds so many memories. Memories that can never be replaced. Now that the house is old and rotting we have to sell it. Although recently we haven't made many visits to out New Hampshire house I am going to miss it incredebly. When I am older I hope that my brothers and I have the chance to buy back the house.

When I think of a special place I had, I think of the small cave that is by the cove at my house. I always thought that is was so cool that nature had made itself a fort. My friends and I would go down and play by the cove, and have so much fun. I have not been down to the fort in awhile but I will never forget how awesome it was.

TOPIC #3

In the essays by by John Jay Chapman and James Baldwin, both writers tell of things they wish had never happened -- the lynching in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and Baldwin's estrangement from his father. For your third class forum entry, tell us about something in your personal life that you wish had never happened.

Responses are below.

One thing I wish had never happened is the death of my aunt. She died before I was born when she was only twenty. I don't think anyone has truly recovered. I do not even know how she died, because the grief still hurts so much that no one in my family ever talks about her. I think that if my aunt hadn't died, my family would be happier, and I wouldn't have lost an older, wiser, loving friend who I could have confided in.

Morgan's Post

One thing I wish never happened was when my great uncle died a while back. I didn't really know him that well and he had owned a hotel out in Missouri. I wish that I had gotten to know him a little, but since he lived so far away it was hard for my family to visit him all the time.

One thing that I wish did not happen is my Dad's development of diabetes. I wish my Dad never developed diabetes because it makes him more prone to getting sick.This not only affects his health, but affects everyone who loves him. Whenever my Dad gets sick I and other family members get a feeling of being incomplete. My Dad, being the kind man he is, has many people who love him. He always brings a smile to everyone's face, and he has a warm caring heart. My Dad is always doing something for others without expecting anything in exchange. I hate seeing my Dad sick, if he didn't get diabetes then it would be easier for him to live a normal life.

One thing that I wish never happened is that my grandfather never died. He died when I was two, and the memories I have of him are very vague. I miss him all the time, and I wish I had built a better relationship with him.

One thing that I truly wish didn't happen was my grandpa's death. He had been dealing with lung cancer for a long time. Everyone new he didn't have much time left, but we never cried around him knowing that would make him sad. We did everything we could. We visited him in the hospital when he was sick, we would bring over some food we had made for him, everything we could possibly think of we did. When I heard that he had died, It was a weird shock. We had all been prepared to hear that, but when I finally heard it, it was 1,000 times worse then I thought it would be. One thing I miss about him is his hugs. Whenever I saw him, even as a little kid he would give me the biggest hugs. It was impossible for his hugs not to make your day!

Post 3

Julia
9 English (Mr. H Salsich)
22 October 2009

Forum Responce 3:

Regrets

Everyone has regrets. From the short-term people in a lifetime; the people you only meet once, to the greatest celebraties; the actors, the politicians, the artists and authors that anyone idolizes. Recent stories we have all read speak of regrets, whether for oneself or a community.

I have regrets. Countless regrets- too many to choose just one. (intentional fragment) I often wonder what compelled me to do something and think about how I could have done better. Regardless, I would never change the past if this were an option. Although I often obsess ofer things that could have been, I always learn from the mistakes I make. If there was no imperfection and anyone could edit any events, there would be no learning. There would be no pride when a goal is actually reached. There would be nothing but good, and therfore there would be no good.

TOPIC #2

For your second class forum entry, tell us about one (or two) of your favorite memories from the Martha's Vineyard trip. It could be a special scene, or something you did, or just some thoughts you had.

(Responses are below.)

Julia's 2nd Post

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I drag my feet to board the school bus to go home. When I sit in the cold, hard, and often filthy seats, I often think about what I'll do for the rest of the evening until my thoughts are drowned out by screeching, blaring MP3 players and handheld electronic games, and the various squeals, grunts, and beeps that often sound out unexpectedly from our old but trusty Bus 18. Riding in the van on the Vineyard trip was not nearly as agrivating or all-around upsetting as the bus I take morning and evening. The buzzing of the emergency exit alarm sounded almost like music, especially compared to the everyday noises of the school bus back home. There was no horrifying "SCREEEACH" when we went over a bump, or the constant annoyance of lower-school boys who waited under seats to trip the older children.

However, these luxuries aren't nearly what was so enjoyable about riding in the bus.

When we first got onto the bus back at school, we listened to iPods in our headphones, occasionally engaging in idle conversation. Half an hour later, we were rolling on the floor, laughing so hard we cried, and enjoying every moment as we sang along to the radio and took some "diva pics".

During all of this, my mind was in a happy stage of suspense. I would think about where we were going, and be so anxious to get there, yet totally content spending time with my peers on the van. Everywhere we traveled would be as exciting as I expected it to be, but it was the memories between memories that will cause me to laugh just thinking of them at the most random times, in complete solitude or peacefulness.

This is what I will see when I look back upon the Class of 2010.

My favorite part of the Vineyard trip was our visit to Aquinnah. The red clay cliffs were so beautiful, and so different from what I am accustomed to at the beach. I loved jumping off the sand dunes, too. It was so purely fun, and it felt so nice to just laugh and fall and run with my friends. I think the memory of the Martha's Vineyard field trip, especially Aquinnah, will stay with me for many years, and I know I will smile each time I think of it.

My favorite memory in Martha's Vineyard was when we went to Gay Head. I enjoyed drawing the cliffs, running in the water with Maddy and Lily, making interesting videos, jumping off the cliffs, and just hanging out with my fellow classmates. The scenery was beautiful and astonishing. Going to Gay Head was the first thing we did after arriving in Martha's Vineyard, and it was the most memorable part of the trip.

One of my favorite memories from Marthas Vineyard was having fun on Gay Head Beach. I really enjoyed running down the beach, and jumping off the sand dunes. Morgan and I liked making sand castles. I also liked skecthing the massive cliffs in my journal.

My favorite memory from Martha's Vineyard is when we were at the beach in Aquinnah. We were drawing the Gay Head Cliffs, but I had a different idea. So I finished my drawing and  tried balancing a rock on one of the large erratics sitting on the beach. When I had finished I took a video of the rock standing on its point.

On the 9th grade trip to Martha's Vineyard I really enjoyed watching the sunset go down at the beach. For the most part of it we were just hanging around and jumping off the cliffs. It was so much fun to just relax and play around. I got some funny videos of Joseph and Morgan and a good video of all of us jumping off the cliffs. Being on the beach was one of the best parts of the trip!

FORUM TOPIC #1

(responses are below)

“Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among seaweed and whitened timbers like the homesick refugees of a long war.”

-- Loren Eiseley

For your first Class Forum entry, tell us what you think of this quote, or, if you wish, tell us about a memory of a time when you were "scavenging" along a beach. Or, feel free to do both. You might want to think about what "scavenge" means, and you might like to comment on this simile: "like homesick refugees of a long war." What do you think he means by that -- especially the word "homesick"?

Due on this Forum by Sunday night, October 4.
Please note the rubrics to the right.

Maddy's Post

I think it's interesting that the author chose to use the word "disturbs" to describe the impulse we feel at the beach to return to our primal roots. Usually the word "disturb" has a negative connotation, used to describe something that deeply upsets us, or interrupts us from something important. In this case though, the word seems to mean that when we visit the ocean, the regular flow of our lives is disrupted, broken up, and we feel the need to explore in the rocks and waves and feel the roughness of the sand on our bare feet. The ocean pulls us out of our busywork and puts us back into nature, and our primordial instincts take over.

Morgan's Post

I think that the "ancient urge" the author speaks about is some primal, default response to walking on the beach. We shed our clothes because it's hot on the beach, but we may start to look in piles of seaweed and other junk that contain either sharks teeth or nice shells because as cave men we had some for pretty and sharp things, or there was something tasty to eat in piles of beach flotsam. Although if the author had not used the word "ancient"(or a word with similar meaning) to describe "urge" then I may have had a different impression.

Julia's Post

I thoroughly enjoy this quote because it has a meaning that can only be found by seeking further into the depths of the given facts, like an ancient treasure waiting just beyond the charted path. Mr. Eiseley speaks of people who walk down the shore as "homesick refugees of a long war". I suppose he means that modern civilization is like a war: people are racing every which way, in chaos and confusion, fighting to convince the world to agree that their idea is best. On the beach there is no war between native species: the grasses live in harmony with the crabs and the birds, for they cause no unnecessary harm. Outsiders notice this subconciously, and their stress flows away with the tide. Nature was not meant to be a war zone.

Lily's Post

I think that Loren Eiseley is saying that when walking on a beach, its vibe is so nice that we just, like he said "find ourselves shedding shows and garments". One example of when we were scavenging on the beach was when we went with our 1st grade partners to Napatree point.